Clusters

Norwegian Innovation Clusters contributes to value creation in the Norwegian business sector by triggering, reinforcing and implementing collaborative development, which would not have taken place on the same scale or at the same rate without public support.

The purpose of the cluster programme

• To increase the innovation capacity and value creation of the companies participating in the cluster collaboration.
• To reinforce the clusters’ role as facilitators of renewal and growth in the Norwegian business sector.
• To increase the clusters’ contribution to developing attractive innovation ecosystems regionally and nationally.

The programme supports the establishment and development of clusters through financing, expertise, advisory services, profiling and networks. The objective is to develop good, effective clusters that assist member companies and the business sector through collaborative development activities.

Activities

44 clusters received services from the cluster programme in 2021. Two new Arena clusters were accepted and four clusters achieved Arena Pro status through programme announcements in 2021. There was also a lot of interest in joining the programme this year, and the quality of the applicants has never been better. Pretty much all the applications had a green profile, but with different approaches and focus.

Norwegian Innovation Clusters has been working for a long time to put in place a separate sub-programme for mature clusters. The sub-programme for mature clusters was announced and four clusters received commitments to conduct major development projects. The objective of the sub-programme is to utilise the expertise and infrastructure that has been developed through the construction of the clusters over time, by enabling them to carry out major industrial boosts that contribute to the restructuring and development of Norwegian trade and industry.

Innovation Norway conducts an annual assessment of member companies’ developments related to sales revenues, value creation, productivity and the number of man-years compared to a control group of similar companies. Annual average value creation is 14.6 percentage points higher for companies that are members of the cluster compared to the control group, 15.2 percentage points higher for sales revenues and 5.8 percentage points higher for man-years. All the figures are significant, and they are at about the same high level as the year before.

Clusters receiving services in 2021

Arena

Clusters that are at an early stage of development with a main focus on the development of a good collaborative foundation.

• Arrangementsbyen Oslo
• Renewable Energy Cluster
• SAMS
• Arena Ocean Hyway Cluster
• Industrial Green Tech
• Norwegian Energy Solution
• Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster
• Concrete Innovation Cluster
• Stiim
• Midsec
• LifeScience
• Construction City
• Marin Recycling Cluster
• Ocean Autonomy Cluster
• Nosca Clean Oceans
• ProptechInnovation
• Circular Packaging
• Norwegian Wood Cluster
• Cluster for applied AI
• H2Cluster – The Norwegian Hydrogen Cluster

Arena Pro

Clusters that have a well-developed collaborative foundation and that initiate and carry out collaborative development projects.

• WoodWorks
• NSCC
• NTSC
• Norwegian Solar Energy Cluster
• ACT
• Cod Cluster
• NF&TA
• Nordic Edge (Formerly Smart City)

Norwegian Centres of Expertise (NCE)

Clusters with a well-developed collaborative foundation, a large portfolio of development projects, and a national position within its sector.

• Maritime CleanTech
• Eyde
• NCE Seafood Innovation
• NCE Aquatech
• NCE Energy Technology
• NCE iKuben
• NCE Finance Innovation
• NCE HeidnerBiocluster
• NCE Blue Legasea

Global Centres of Expertise (GCE)

Same as NCE, but with a global position.

• GCE NODE
• GCE Blue Maritime
• GCE Ocean Technology

Modne klynger (Mature clusters)

Clusters that are qualified according to specified requirements and criteria, and that provide a basis for applying for funding regarding major ‘common good’ projects.

• NCE Media
• NCE Eyde
• Oslo Cancer Cluster
• Norway Health Tech